Japanese Design: From Asahi to Zen

Rating:
Summary: colorful and cogent
Review: A worthy update on the world of Japanese style and design. Both pictures and text provide an insightful look into the Japan of the new millenium. The architecture, packaging, and fashion sections were of particular note. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: It's a REALLY different world
Review: I've long been fascinated by the (to Westerners) strangenesses of Japanese culture and society, and I'm also interested in "life style" design, so I was particularly taken with this book. Each of the beautifully illustrated chapters deals with one aspect of the Japanese approach to the visual -- fashion, architecture, interiors, food and drink, transport, consumer products, housewares, communication and packaging, and transport -- and the author gives as much attention to the social psyhology behind Japanese traditions and interpretations as to the art and design itself, examining Japan's communitarian aspects and the tension between colorful individualism and finely developed herd instinct. A terrific book.

Rating:
Summary: It's a REALLY different world
Review: I've long been fascinated by the (to Westerners) strangenesses of Japanese culture and society, and I'm also interested in "life style" design, so I was particularly taken with this book. Each of the beautifully illustrated chapters deals with one aspect of the Japanese approach to the visual -- fashion, architecture, interiors, food and drink, transport, consumer products, housewares, communication and packaging, and transport -- and the author gives as much attention to the social psyhology behind Japanese traditions and interpretations as to the art and design itself, examining Japan's communitarian aspects and the tension between colorful individualism and finely developed herd instinct. A terrific book.